In a variety of fields, users increasingly require high availability and/or operability of systems. Service centers are often provided through which users (e.g., customers or the like) can report events or problems related to system usage or the like. In many instances, the number of reported events or problems can be very large. Nevertheless, the various reported events or problems can often contain limited information.
In just some illustrative examples, in utility companies (e.g., gas, electric, water or the like), one or more user report may be provided (e.g., “lights are flickering” or the like) upon the discovery of an event or problem. Nevertheless, it can often be difficult to ascertain the underlying problems based on these various reports.
In various industries, users (e.g., customers or the like) may also provide reports related to various computer usage events or problems. Users increasingly require data and applications to be available substantially around the clock (e.g., 24 hours a day/7 days a week). With the increasing dependency on computer systems, availability and/or operability are of increasing interest. Availability and/or operability may be affected by computer hardware, computer software and the like.
In illustrative instances, service personnel may be assigned a task of identifying system events, such as system failures or other system problems. In some instances, these personnel rely on reports provided by customers. However, in some instances, personnel may make or initiate reports on their own.
In some illustrative instances, reports are filed as or under cases that may be assigned “priority” levels based on estimated levels of importance. For example, cases having potential problems or the like meeting certain definitions (e.g., related to system functionality, location, times or the like) may be given a particular “priority” level and may, in some circumstances, be “escalated” to another priority level based on other factors (e.g., additional reports, passage of time, etc.).
Identification of underlying events or problems can be of significant interest to various commercial and other enterprises, including, for example, to commercial enterprises providing computer and/or software services to various users, such as, for example, various application service providers (ASPs) that offer individuals or enterprises access over a network (such as, e.g., the Internet) to applications and related services.